Garment shaper



Nov. 13, 1962 F. R. HAZARD 3,063,607

GARMENT SHAPER Filed Sept. 21, 1960 F161! J1 H624 INVENTOR F ronces R. lfvazara BY M/KW ATTORNEY United States Pawn M 3,063,607 GARMENT SHAPER Frances R. Hazard, 431 N. Pine St., Lancaster, Pa. Filed Sept. 21, 1960, Ser. No. 57,463 3 Claims. (Cl. 22369) This invention relates to garment formers or shapers which are particularly useful as accessories adapted to provide a desired finished form or shape to a garment when it is dried.

Many garments, such as crinoline petticoats, have a stiff finished form and are adapted to be worn under a skirt to make it bulge out widely, preferably in circular configuration. In order to obtain this finished form it is necessary to iron the crinoline garment, and it is a very tedious and t rne-consuming procedure to obtain a satisfactory finished garment.

According to the present invention, a finished, properly shaped crinoline petticoat is obtained as the garment dries, simply by suitably forming the lower end or hem of the petticoat in a circular configuration and hanging the petticoat up to dry on any conventional clothesline or drier.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved garment shaper.

Another object of this invention is to provide a garment shaper particularly useful as a crinoline petticoat drier accessory.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved garment shaper comprising a plurality of segments forming an adjustable drier accessory for shaping various difierent sizes of garments.

Further objects and advantages of this invention willbecome apparent from the following description referring to the accompanying drawing, and the features of novelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims appended to and forming a part of this specification.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of a crinoline petticoat hung up to dry with a garment shaper incorporating the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a garment shaper made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2, showing a structural detail of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view through coupled ends of a pair of adjacent segments comprising the garment former shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional View, similar to FIG. 4, illustrating another embodiment of the coupling ends of segments comprising a garment former incorporating the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, an embodiment of an improved garment shaper incorporating the present invention is shown which comprises a plurality of smoothsurfaced arcuate segments 1, preferably of differing lengths and circular cross section, which can be assembled to provide a substantially circular form of various diameters. This provides for adjusting the size of the shaper to suit a large variety of sizes of garments. By making the segments of a large number of different lengths, almost any diameter circle or annulus within a reasonable range can be obtained. Preferably, the segments are formed hollow in order to reduce the weight of the shaper and are formed of a maximum length so that in the disassembled state the difierent segments can be gathered together and conveniently stored in a relatively small container. Furthermore, the shaper preferably is formed of material having a resilient quality so that the segments 3,053,607 PatentedNov. 13, 1962 ICE can be curved or expanded as may be required in forming smaller or larger diameter circles. The material of which the shaper segments are formed should have sufiicient rigidity to provide a stiff finished shape when completely assembled. Such material might comprise a suitable plastic or metal having the desired resiliency.

In accordance with the present invention, each segment 1 is formed with a male end and a female end, forming coupling portions for readily demountably securing together adjacent segments of the shaper. In one embodiment of the present invention, the male end of each segment may be formed cylindrically on a smaller diameter, as shown at 2 in FIG. 4, than the diameter of the remainder of the segment, or with a very slight taper, like a stopper, so that it is adapted to form a coupling portion which is readily demountably fitted snugly into the female end of another segment, which is formed as a complementary cylindrical or slightly tapered socket 3 to provide for an assembled shaper ring or hoop which is held together by frictional engagement of the male end portion 2 within the female end socket 3..

In another embodiment of the present invention, the two ends of each segment of the shaper are formed with complementary conical surfaces, as shown in FIG. 5. The male end of each segment is formed with an exterior conical surface portion 4 and the female end of each segment is formed with a complementary inner or concave conical surface portion 5, which is substantially complementary to the male portion 4. Such conical male and female segment ends provide for a very firm mating of adjacent ends of adjacent segments as any slight difference in dimensions is readily compensated for by insertion of the male end portion to a greater or lesser degree into the female end portion for providing a substantially annular hoop form.

Each arcuate segment 1 is provided with a plurality of substantially equally circumferentially spaced pins 6 which extend substantially radially outwardly of each arcuate segment for engaging a part of a garment, such as the lower hem or edge 7 of a crinoline petticoat 8, as shown in FIG. 1, to hold it in the desired position when it is hung up to dry, as by a waistband 9 secured by suitable clothespins 10 to a clothesline 11. When such a garment is made of suitably stiff material or provided with a rinse of stiffening or starching material, it will dry to a desired finished shape.

The pins 6 may comprise any suitable element and preferably are formed with a head 6' around which the material forming the arcuate segments 1 may be molded, so that the heads 6 are anchored within the material of which the segments are made. Alternately, the pins may be made of sufficient length and simply be pressed through the segments 1 along the arcuate radius thereof with the heads 6 of the pins arranged along the inner exterior surface of the segments. In either case, it is desirable that the pins 6 should extend through at least a portion of two sides of the segments 1, where these segments are formed of hollow material, so as to provide a desired rigidity to the anchoring of the pins in the segments. Furthermore, since the garment shaper usually will be used in connection with wet garments, the pins 6 should be formed of non-corrosive material, such as stainless steel or chrome or nickel plated brass.

In this manner a simple garment shaper is provided which is adjustable to a large variety of sizes and provides for drying garments to the desired finished shape Without the need of further pressing or ironing.

While a particular embodiment of an improved garment shaper and variations of certain parts have been illustrated and described, modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art. It is to be understood, therefore, that this invention is not to be limited to the particular details disclosed, and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of this invention.

What ,is claimed is:

1. A garment shaper comprising 'a'plurality of smooth arcuate segments of differing lengths, a plurality of circumferentially spaced pins extending substantially radially outwardly from each arcuate segment for engaging part of a garment to hold .it in a desired position while the garment is drying, means for joining said segments to form a continuous member free of allexternal protuberances other'than said pins which might engage a garment comprising a male end and a female end on each segment forming coupling portions, the male end of each segment being adapted readily demountably to fit snugly into the female end of another segment and to be held in assembled relationship by frictional engagement therebetween for providing a substantially circular form of adjustable size.

2. A garment shaper as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pins .are spaced substantially equally circumferentially of said arcuate segments and are formed with heads anchored in the material comprising the segments.

3. A garment shaper as defined in claim 1 wherein each female end is formed with a concave conical surface and each male end is formed with a conical surface adapted readily demountably to fit snugly into the female end of another segment and to be held in assembled relationship by frictional engagement therebetween for providing a substantially circular form to the assembled garment shaper.

References ;Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 799,343 Knollmann Sept. 12, 1905 1,173,427 Heyman Feb. 29, 1916 1,409,810 Adams et al. Mar. 14, 1922 1,512,786 Morton Oct. 21, 1924 1,955,330 Hiers et al Apr. 17, 1934 2,519,767 Kidder Aug. 22, 1950 2,536,134 Lev Jan. 2, 1951 2,905,369 Schaefer Sept. 22, 1959 

